The Second Sunday after Christmas January 3, 2021

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Welcome and Announcements

Welcome and Merry Christmas! I’m so thrilled to be worshipping with you this morning! None of us could ever have anticipated a Christmas season like this, but I’m so grateful for all of you that are worshipping with us on Facebook or YouTube or just praying in your homes. This time of physical distancing has made it more clear than ever that the church is resilient and that the Body of Christ remains strong even when we can’t be together in person.

Christmas is a season of joy, of angels triumphantly proclaiming the Messiah’s birth and the whole of the heavens breaking out into song. But it’s also a season of quiet moments – Mary and Joseph alone in the stable with their newborn baby; the shepherds contemplating what on earth just happened after the angels departed; Mary holding all that had happened in her heart after the shepherds had returned to their flocks. This year’s Christmas feels more like these quiet celebrations. We can’t all gather in the church to joyfully sing together our favorite hymns, but we certainly can sing along in our own homes. We aren’t gathered around the altar to feast at God’s table, but we welcome God as a guest at our smaller feasts this year. It all may feel very different, but nothing stops God’s triumphant entry into the world and our celebration of that, even if there are fewer trumpets this time.

May this Christmas season be a time of joy and gratitude for you and your families. May the joy of God’s coming presence in the world fill your heart to overflowing. And may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, be with you and those you love, now and always.

Grace & Peace,

Andrew+

Opening Acclamation BCP, p. 355

Officiant Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. People And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever. Amen.

The Collect of the Day Common Worship

Officiant The Lord be with you. People And also with you. Officiant Let us pray.

Almighty God, in the birth of your Son you have poured on us the new light of your incarnate Word, and shown us the fullness of your love: help us to walk in his light and dwell in his love that we may know the fullness of his joy; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Lesson Ephesians1:3-6, 15-19a NRSV

A reading from the Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father

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of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.

The Word of the Lord. People Thanks be to God

The Response Psalm 84 Psalter for the Christian People

1. How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! * My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

2. The sparrow has found her a house and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; * by the side of your altars, O Lord of hosts, my Sovereign and my God.

3. Happy are they who dwell in your house! * They will always be praising you.

4. Happy are the people whose strength is in you, * whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way!

5. Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs, * for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.

6. They will climb from height to height, * and the God of gods, will appear in Zion.

7. Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; * hearken, O God of Jacob.

8. Behold our defender, O God; * and look upon the face of your anointed.

9. For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, * and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

10. For the Lord God is both sun and shield; * the Lord will give grace and glory;

11. No good thing will you withhold * from those who walk with integrity.

12. Lord of hosts, * happy are they who put their trust in you.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son * and to the Holy Spirit:

As it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be for ever. Amen.

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The Gospel Luke 2:41-52 NRSV

Deacon A reading from the Gospel according to Luke.

The parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem every year for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

The Word of the Lord. People Thanks be to God.

The Sermon Barbara Ambrose

The Apostles’ Creed (said in unison) BCP, p. 96

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth; I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

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THE PRAYERS Officiant The Lord be with you. People And also with you. Officiant Let us pray.

All Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Prayers of the People from Praying the Scriptures

Intercessor The Lord God is both sun and shield; God will give grace and glory. In the house of our God, let us pray, Lord God of hosts,

People Hear our prayer.

Intercessor We give thanks for your Church, O God. Bless it with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. May we be made happy in the knowledge of the hope to which we are called. We pray for all who live, work, and go to school on Oregon Hill; for all who are celebrating birthdays this week, including Aimee Johnson, Jane Bowe, Jay Squires, Flo Williams, Santiago Finch, Aislynn Haith, Belinda Brugh, Paula Harper, Maura Higginbotham. Lord God of hosts,

People Hear our prayer.

Intercessor We give thanks for this nations, O God. Give to our leaders a spirit of wisdom. Deliver them from selfish ambition and give all the people a heart for your children, especially those little ones living in poverty or exile. Lord God of hosts,

People Hear our prayer.

Intercessor We give thanks for your creation, O God. Where there is desolation, bring forth springs of clean water. Where your creatures are without a place, may they find a place within you. Lord God of hosts,

People Hear our prayer.

Intercessor We give thanks for this city, O God. Set us on a straight path where we shall not stumble. Bring new life to languishing areas. Lord God of hosts,

People Hear our prayer.

Intercessor We give thanks for all those in our lives, O God. We pray especially for those who know weeping and tears. Turn their mourning into joy, comfort them, and give them gladness for sorry. Lord God of hosts,

People Hear our prayer.

Intercessor We give thanks for the saints at rest, O God. Gather them into your great heavenly company. May they enjoy forever the riches of your glorious inheritance. Lord God of hosts,

People Hear our prayer.

Intercessor I invite you to offer your own prayers, either silently or aloud.

Please add your own prayers either silently or aloud.

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Concluding Collect

Officiant God our Father, whose Word has come among us in the Holy Child of Bethlehem: may the light of faith illumine our hearts and shine in our words and deeds; through him who is Christ the Lord. Amen.

The Blessing

The Dismissal BCP, p. 366

Deacon Let us go forth rejoicing in the power of the Spirit! People Thanks be to God!

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Worship Participants

Officiant: The Rev. Andrew Moore Deacon & Preacher: The Rev. Deacon Barbara Ambrose

All music used by permission under OneLicense.net # A-716206 or by permission of the composer.

The Prayers of the People:

• Phyllis Bailey, Richard Bowen, Pat Bridgewater, Sarah Bridgewater, Dwayne Briggs, Rob Burger, Bee Butler, Davison Chapman, Wayne Clark, Tom Davis, Shirley Dolan, Sarah Dowles, Jim Evans, Renee Ferrucci, Cyrus Field, Ellen Field, Susan Goff, Carlton Green, Jack Greener, Melissa Groome, Van Haywood, Herbert Hubbel, Georgia Jonkman, Jeeha Kamran, Diane Klisavage, Elaine Kriskus, Eileen LoSasso, Shawna Methaney, Lillian Miller, Craig Millward, Crystal Munnings, Ann Olliff, Henry Randolph, Jerrie Richardson, Audrey Rowe, Greg Rowe, Karen Salter, Lizzy Schrass, Donnie Thomas, Ramon Torres, Flo Williams.

• Pray for those who live and work and go to school on Oregon Hill and for the ministry of Anna Julia Cooper Middle School.

• We pray to overcome in Christ’s name the heritage of racism: For racial reconciliation, healing, and justice in Metropolitan Richmond; for an end to all personal and structural racial prejudice and discrimination.

• Pray for those celebrating birthdays this week: Aimee Johnson (1/3), Jane Bowe (1/4), Jay Squires (1/5), Flo Williams (1/5), Santiago Finch (1/6), Aislynn Haith (1/6), Belinda Brugh (1/7), Paula Harper (1/8), Maura Higginbotham (1/8).

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News and Upcoming Events:

• Noonday Prayer: Each weekday, join us in praying Noonday Prayer at 12:00 noon on Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/standrewsrva. You can follow along in the Book of Common Prayer on page 103 or online at www.bcponline.org. Click on The Daily Office and then an Order of Service for Noonday.

• Digital Coffee Hour: Join us on Sundays at 10:45 a.m. on Zoom! You can join by going to https://zoom.us/j/97623461393 and entering the password 067460. You can also call (929) 205-6099 and entering the meeting ID: 976 2346 1393 and the password 067460. This has been a fantastic time to visit virtually and catch up with one another.

• The Twelve Days of Christmas: St. Andrew’s will again offer a ministry to share compassion and love with our neighbors who struggle with food scarcity. As we celebrate the incarnation of God in our midst, each day set aside a non-perishable food item and say a prayer for the person or family that will eventually receive that item. You can drop off your donations at St. Andrew’s House on:

o Saturday, January 9, 10:00 a.m. – Noon o Monday, January 11, 10:00 am – 4:00 p.m. o Wednesday, January 13, 10:00 am – 4:00 p.m.

These items will be donated to the Oregon Hill Baptist Center Food Pantry located at Pine Street Church. Inventories at food pantries are depleted after Christmas, but the need faced by people who are struggling financially continues. OHBC serves individuals and families who live in or near Oregon Hill. Your Twelve Days of Christmas list:

1. Canned Tuna 2. Canned Salmon 3. Canned Chicken 4. Canned Spaghetti & Meatballs 5. Spaghetti Sauce 6. Spaghetti Noodles

7. Canned Fruit 8. Pork & Beans 9. Instant Potatoes 10. Canned Vegetables (assorted) 11. Peanut Butter 12. Jelly

• UGK Community First Update & Volunteer Opportunities: UGK Community First has established a partnership with the City of Richmond and moved its kitchen operations to The Annie Giles Center at 1400 Oliver Hill Way. Many of you may remember serving meals to homeless people when this facility was called the Conrad Center. This partnership with the City will place Community First in closer proximity to areas of food insecurity in the City and creates opportunity to develop educational programs on topics such as nutrition, food preparation and health benefits of healthy eating to vulnerable populations. The new year is a great time to consider volunteer opportunities at UGK Community First. For more information and to sign up to volunteer, visit Volunteer - UGK Community First.

• Winter Fellowship Survey: The Clergy and Vestry at St. Andrew's are exploring more fellowship options for the winter months. Because of climbing COVID numbers and the continued gathering restrictions within The Diocese of Virginia, any St. Andrew's events during the winter will be virtual. BUT that shouldn't stop us from spending time together! We want to hear from YOU about what types of fellowship activities you would want to participate in with other members of the St. Andrew's community. Please take a few moments and fill out the survey so we can create the most meaningful opportunities.

• Sunday Paper Junior Bulletins: While we cannot gather to worship in person, we encourage you to share these Sunday Paper Junior bulletins with your children. These are the same bulletins we have been offering in church each Sunday. Linked here are the Sunday Paper Junior bulletins for last Sunday, Christmas, and today. Email Britton at office@standrewsoregonhill.org if you'd like her to mail paper copies to you.

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• Connect at Digital Coffee Hour: Like most of you, I dearly miss Sunday morning worship services at St Andrew's. But mostly I miss our community which is a big part of our service. I appreciate the effort that Andrew and others have done to put together great online worship experiences, either Noonday Prayer or our Sunday service. And while I’m so happy to continue with this type of worship it doesn’t fulfill my longing for connection. What fills me up is our Digital Coffee Hour. It’s so great to see familiar faces, to laugh or exchanges stories of out trials and tribulations in dealing with the pandemic. Only then do I feel like it’s Sunday! It’s really quite simple to log in. If you need help please call me at 804-548-5956 or ask a child or grandchild for help, LOL. 😄 – Sue Barrett

• Options for Giving: While we are unable to gather in person and offer our collective offering to God, it is critically important that we all continue to give as we are able. Even though we are not meeting in person, the expenses of the church remain. If you are already accustomed to giving online, thank you! If it is your practice to place your offering in the plate on Sundays, we invite you to consider either mailing your offering to the church or giving through our secure site. Simply visit the Giving page of our website. Choose from a drop-down menu whether this is a pledge payment or if it is just a gift, select Give Now. You can choose to make this a recurring gift online as well. If you do choose to give online, please consider adding an additional 2-3% to your pledge to cover the service fees the church is charged for each gift. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Andrew or a member of the Vestry.

• Help St. Andrew's with Kroger Community Rewards: Help St. Andrew's by increasing donations every time you shop at Kroger! Thanks to their Community Rewards program, it's easy. Create or log into your digital account at kroger.com. In the Community Rewards section of your account, link your Kroger Plus Card to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Oregon Hill (organization ID AF019). Scan your Kroger Plus Card every time you check out at Kroger. St. Andrew's receives a periodic donation check from Kroger based on a percentage of designated transactions, all at no cost to you. Questions? Contact Chris Catanzaro at 804-922-1288 or Kroger Customer Service at 800-KROGERS (800-576-4377).

• Children’s Worship Videos: Each week we will have a worship video designed specifically for families with children. They will include a reading from the Jesus Storybook Bible, a time for prayers, and a new segment called “Ask Andrew.” This will be a chance for our young people to ask their questions about God and the world and Andrew will (attempt) to answer them! Email Andrew to submit questions for inclusion. The videos will be posted on our YouTube channel and links will be included in our weekly worship emails.

• Free Digital Publications for Advent, Christmas, & Epiphany: Church Publishing Incorporated has updated their selection of free digital publications with resources for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, which you can browse by clicking here. These include The Book of Common Prayer in both English and Spanish, and books, activity packs, and more for children, teens, and adults!

• UPDATED Cell Phone Number for Andrew: Andrew has a new cell phone number, which was previously advertised incorrectly! If you need to reach him, please call him at 804-251-0363. You can also email him at amoore@standrewsoregonhill.org

Who in the world would ever have guessed we’d have a year like the one we’ve just been through? Who in the world would have guessed that St. Andrew’s would have come through it so beautifully and with such creativity? We hope you’ll join us in giving thanks to God for the flexibility and creativity that already existed within our community. You so quickly adapted to digital worship and fellowship. Your Vestry completed the first digital Mutual Ministry Review with the diocese and called Andrew to serve as our Rector, all within the first weeks of the pandemic. You’ve joined in virtual book groups and film conversations, EFM is meeting again this year, all via Zoom, a technology most of us had never even heard of before March. And when we saw the increasing need for feeding

ministries, you gave selflessly of your time and your dollars to support FeedMore and the new Underground Kitchen Community First initiative.

And as every organization you’re a part of has already said to you, your financial support means more now than ever to keep this flexibility, creativity, and faithfulness alive and thriving in the year to come. Thanks to your continued generosity, we’ve been able to weather the financial challenges of 2020. As we look toward 2021, none of us knows what the coming year will bring. But we can say with great confidence that we still find joy together, in whatever ways we are able to come together. So as we enter this season of gratitude and turn our attention to stewardship, we take our inspiration from Psalm 98 and the confidence that we are indeed together for joy.

We hope that you will join us in giving thanks for the sources of joy in our lives, particularly the joy that comes from our life together at St. Andrew’s. A huge thank you to those of you who have discerned and submitted your pledges already. So far, we have received 41 pledges totaling nearly $120,000. We’re so very grateful for your support.

Between now and then, we hope you will prayerfully discern your pledge for 2021. As you discern, consider praying this prayer:

Great One, for you the floods clap, for you the hills sing. You know my situation better than anyone.

Take my credits and debits, ins and outs, my pluses and minuses, surpluses and lacks, and show me

how to use them to join the great chorus of Creation. Amen.

We invite you to submit your pledge safely and securely online on the St. Andrew's website, or return the pledge card on the back of this page.

For all that we’ve already accomplished together during this challenging season, for all that we will accomplish together in the future, thank God, and thank YOU. See you soon - and until then, let us be together for joy.

Faithfully,

Who in the world would ever have guessed we’d have a year like the one we’ve just been through? Who in the world would have guessed that St. Andrew’s would have come through it so beautifully and with such creativity? We hope you’ll join us in giving thanks to God for the flexibility and creativity that already existed within our community. You so quickly adapted to digital worship and fellowship. Your Vestry completed the first digital Mutual Ministry Review with the diocese and called Andrew to serve as our Rector, all within the first weeks of the pandemic. You’ve joined in virtual book groups and film conversations, EFM is meeting again this year, all via Zoom, a technology most of us had never even heard of before March. And when we saw the increasing need for feeding ministries, you gave selflessly of your time and your

dollars to support FeedMore and the new Underground Kitchen Community First initiative. And as every organization you’re a part of has already said to you, your financial support means more now than ever to keep this flexibility, creativity, and faithfulness alive and thriving in the year to come. Thanks to your continued generosity, we’ve been able to weather the financial challenges of 2020. As we look toward 2021, none of us knows what the coming year will bring. But we can say with great confidence that we still find joy together, in whatever ways we are able to come together. So as we enter this season of gratitude and turn our attention to stewardship, we take our inspiration from Psalm 98 and the confidence that we are indeed together for joy. We hope that you will join us in giving thanks for the sources of joy in our lives, particularly the joy that comes from our life together at St. Andrew’s. Join us on social media between now and Sunday, November 22, when we give thanks for and bless the offerings of support for our life together in 2021. We’ll have daily invitations to consider what brings us joy and the things for which we are grateful. Between now and then, we hope you will prayerfully discern your pledge for 2021. As you discern, consider praying this prayer:

Great One, for you the floods clap, for you the hills sing. You know my situation better than anyone.

Take my credits and debits, ins and outs, my pluses and minuses,��surpluses and lacks, and show me

how to use them to join the great chorus of Creation. Amen.

We invite you to submit your pledge safely and securely online on the St. Andrew's website, or return the pledge card on the back of this page. For all that we’ve already accomplished together during this challenging season, for all that we will accomplish together in the future, thank God, and thank YOU. See you soon - and until then, let us be together for joy. Faithfully,

The Rev. Andrew Y. Moore Chris Catanzaro Rector Stewardship Chair

236 S. Laurel St. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Church Office Richmond, VA 23220 standrewsoregonhill.org 804-648-7980